Not How the World Works

The first time I was bullied on the playground, I asked my parents why all kids weren't nice. "That's not the way the world works. People can be mean."

In a similar refrain, after asking for a particular toy. "Money doesn't grow on trees. That's not the way the world works."

I heard that phrase quite a lot growing up.

Which raises the question, if kindness, mutual respect, and money-growing trees are not how the world works ... well then, how does the world work?

It works on one principle.

Not gravity. Not quantum physics. Not evolution.

Those are all experiential aspects in the unfolding of the world. But there is one principle underlying them all, which is this: desire for selfhood.

Every single thought and action, for everyone, centers around the concept of me. What does this mean for me? Is this good or bad for me or the people that this me cares about?

Even our nightly dreams place me front and center. The hero of every somnolent reverie.

The world works on this principle of promoting, sustaining, and cherishing the me. In fact, the world was made to witness separation and the certainty of selfhood. As we read in A Course in Miracles: "There is no world apart from what you wish."

Believing this world real and seeking happiness within its purported offerings is a fool's errand, yet one we pitifully run. Again and again.

But there is a way off this treadmill of tribulation. Not by denying the world. But through comprehension of how the world really works.

Discerning the true cause of experiential perception leads us back to the mind and the source of projection. From here we can undo the choice for worldly sorrow and instead rest in the serenity of perfect peace.

Join me in Thursday's class where we’ll discuss how the world really works and steps we can take to shed its burdensome ways. I look forward to seeing you then.